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Updated: May 4, 2026

Combining Microfluidics and Microrheology to Determine Rheological Properties of Soft Matter during Repeated Phase Transitions
Published on: April 19, 2018
Shape transitions in supercritical CO2 microemulsions induced by hydrotropes
Craig James1, Marios Hopkins Hatzopoulos, Ci Yan
1School of Chemistry, University of Bristol , Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K.
Abstract:
The ability to induce morphological transitions in water-in-oil (w/o) and water-in-CO2 (w/c) microemulsions stabilized by a trichain anionic surfactant 1,4-bis(neopentyloxy)-3-(neopentyloxycarbonyl)-1,4-dioxobutane-2-sulfonate (TC14) with simple hydrotrope additives has been investigated. High-pressure small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has revealed the addition of a small mole fraction of hydrotrope can yield a significant elongation in the microemulsion water droplets. For w/o systems, the degree of droplet growth was shown to be dependent on the water content, the hydrotrope mole fraction, and chemical structure, whereas for w/c microemulsions a similar, but less significant, effect was seen. The expected CO2 viscosity increase from such systems has been calculated and compared to related literature using fluorocarbon chain surfactants. This represents the first report of hydrotrope-induced morphology changes in w/c microemulsions and is a significant step forward toward the formation of hydrocarbon worm-like micellar assemblies in this industrially relevant solvent.
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